Shoppers look for Black Friday deals around Portage

By Jeremy Nobile and Mike Lesko staff Writers

Saturday

Nov 30, 2013 at 4:00 AM

Thanksgiving may be stealing the thunder from the country's traditionally busiest shopping day of the year.

Ona Walter of Tallmadge said she was in a Walmart line by 6 p.m. Thursday for deals. A Black Friday veteran, Walter picked up some toys for her grandkids before heading home. She was back up at 7 a.m. Friday to take advantage of deals at Target, Sam's Club and Kohl's.

Compared to last year, she said the crowds were similar, but perhaps a little smaller early Friday.

Jennifer Sample of Suffield said when she drove by an Akron Walmart Thursday night prior to their opening, "I'd never seen so many cars in my life, I couldn't believe it."

While shopping at Kohl's Friday morning, she was surprised by a significant, but otherwise tame crowd.

"I really figured it would've been worse," she said. "They must've done all their shopping last night."

Tara Lacivita and Shawn Kramer, both of Ravenna, were shopping in the Brimfield Cascades Friday morning for nothing in particular. Both made stops at the Kent/Ravenna Walmart on Thursday around 9 p.m. Kramer picked up some toys for his younger cousins, including a Furby doll.

"It was way busier last year," Lacivita said.

Some video game stores such as Gamestop opened at midnight Friday. At the Kent Gamestop, business was steady Friday morning, but manageable, employees said.

Madison Hall, an associate at Kent's Off the Wagon toy store, said Small Business Saturday today likely will bring heavier crowds to downtown Kent.

"That's usually our busiest time," she said. "Today, I feel like people are probably sleeping in after doing their crazy shopping last night."

Kentites Heather Caldwell and her daughter, Georgia Kingsley, were perusing downtown Kent early Friday. Both were drawn out to take Kingsley's kids to an art class and shopped at McKay Bricker Gallery and Framing where they found some trinkets and Christmas tree ornaments.

The duo went on to make a final stop at Off the Wagon before calling it a day.

Kingsley, who typically avoids the chaos of Black Friday, said she appreciated the absence of hectic shopping crowds.

North Royalton's Christy Koestner left her home at 4:30 a.m. on Black Friday to head to Aurora Farms Premium Outlets, where she arrived shortly after 5 a.m.

"We always start at Aurora Farms," Koestner said. "It's a good area to shop. You can find random good deals. We've done that the last 3 to 4 years."

Throughout the major retail stores in Aurora and Streetsboro, shoppers were out in force Thanksgiving evening and Black Friday morning.

Aurora's Barb Orosz was at the Streetsboro Target on Black Friday morning, searching for gifts for her grandchildren, ages 2 and 4, including Lego Duplo blocks. She said the "hot item" is a FurReal Friends' stuffed monkey.